Transport solutions for the next six years

Work to develop transport funding plans for the next six years is coming to a close

Plans that set out all of the land transport activities that regions want to progress over the next six years are now being finalised.

The Transport Agency has been working closely with its funding partners over the past 12 months to develop their Regional Land Transport Plans (RLTPs).

The process to develop the RLTPs includes public consultation and hearings so that people living in the respective regions have a chance to share their views on transport issues and how transport funding should be spent.

Eight RLTPs are produced for the Transport Agency’s Central region, which stretches up from the top of the South Island (Nelson, Tasman and Marlborough) to the southern and central North Island, reaching across Taranaki, Manawatu-Wanganui, Wellington, to the Hawke's Bay and Gisborne.

This has kept Central region staff busy as they worked with councils to help develop the draft plans, consult with the community and hear submissions, before the RLTPs can be finalised and submitted to the Transport Agency by the end of this month.

“We have been working together to ensure that when a Regional Transport Committee adopts an RLTP, it is satisfied the plan is consistent with the Government Policy Statement on Land Transport which was announced last December,” says Regional Manager Planning and Investment, Lyndon Hammond.

“The plans also need to take account of the Government’s key priorities of road safety and economic growth and productivity – all-in-all a huge task!” he says.

Once the RLTPs are submitted, they will be assessed by the Transport Agency and used to build the National Land Transport Programme (NLTP) for 2015-18.

The guiding principles of the NLTP are that it needs to:

be outcome-focused

provide whole-of-transport-system benefits

demonstrate a one-network approach

include activities or journeys that have inter-regional significance

show value for money, and

have a clear strategic case for planning and investment.

The NLTP 2015-2018 will be approved by the Transport Agency Board in June and will come into effect on 1 July 2015.

The Transport Agency Board endorsed indicative investment levels this month for four programmes under the NLTP – local road maintenance, state highway maintenance, public transport services and road safety.

This allowed the Transport Agency to give councils early indications of how much they can expect to receive from the fund in July. Councils could then factor the indicative funding into their 10 year plans, rather than have to wait until NLTP 2015-18 is formally adopted by the Board in June.

The indicative investment levels are based on current need within each approved organisation and state highway region, and are not based on previous investment levels.